IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 408 

Expressing sincere condolences and support for assistance to the people of 

the Philippines and all those affected by the tragic Super Typhoon 

Haiyan (Yolanda) of November 8, 2013. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 13, 2013 

Ms. SPEIER (for herself, Mr. HONDA, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. BORDALLO, Ms. 

MOORE, Ms. HAHN, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. 

SHERMAN, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. GRAYSON, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, 

Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Ms. MENG, Ms. CHU, and 

Mr. PASCRELL) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing sincere condolences and support for assistance 

to the people of the Philippines and all those affected 

by the tragic Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) of November 8, 2013. 

Whereas, on November 8, 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan 

(local name Yolanda) made landfall and hit the eastern 

seaboard of the Philippine archipelago; 

Whereas the typhoon brought sustained winds of 147 miles 

per hour, gusts of 170 to 190 miles per hour, waves as 

high as 45 feet, and up to 15.75 inches of rain in some 

places, making it the year’s strongest storm, and potentially the strongest typhoon ever recorded at landfall; 


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•HRES 408 IH 

Whereas approximately 7 million Filipinos have been affected 

by the typhoon and nearly 582,000 people were forced 

from and evacuated their homes, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council 

of the Philippines; 

Whereas among the hardest hit was the coastal city of 

Tacloban on the island of Leyte, which 70 years ago was 

the first town to be liberated by General Douglas MacArthur from the Imperial Japanese occupation; 

Whereas Tacloban was almost completely submerged by 

waves of up to 40 feet, with 70 to 80 percent of the city’s 

structures now destroyed, according to Elmer Soria, the 

chief superintendent and regional police director; 

Whereas, as of November 12, the typhoon was responsible for 

nearly 1,800 deaths, and the estimates of the total death 

toll in Tacloban alone could climb as high as 10,000; 

Whereas the United Nation’s Children Fund estimates that 

1.7 million children lived in the pathway of the typhoon; 

Whereas in the wake of a natural disasters and the subsequent breakdown of protective societal norms, the 

vulnerabilities of women and girls are more acute; 

Whereas the schools and gymnasiums and other sites that 

were designated as evacuation centers failed to hold up 

against the winds, as roofs ripped off, windows shattered, 

and ceilings caved in, according to Lynette Lim, spokeswoman for Save the Children; 

Whereas videos and aerial surveillance show vast stretches of 

land flattened and decimated; 

Whereas initial reports say that most of the deaths were from 

drowning or collapsed buildings and that many commuVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:34 Nov 14, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR408.IH HR408

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•HRES 408 IH 

nities are now without access to communication, water, 

food, and aid; 

Whereas, by November 10, President Benigno S. Aquino III 

of the Philippines declared a state of calamity; 

Whereas Interior Secretary Roxas of the Philippines said that 

the impact of the typhoon was like a tsunami hit, because 

moving from the shore to one kilometer inland there are 

no structures standing; 

Whereas Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, head of a United Nations disaster assessment coordination team, said that 

there was ‘‘destruction on a massive scale in Tacloban’’, 

where ‘‘there are cars thrown like tumbleweed’’, and that 

‘‘the last time I saw something of this scale was in the 

aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami’’; 

Whereas the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) estimates that nearly 2.5 million people will require immediate food assistance in the aftermath of the typhoon; 

Whereas the global community, including governments, organizations, and private relief groups, has speedily and 

compassionately rallied to assist the Government of the 

Philippines in providing food, aid, shelter, monetary donations, and logistical support; 

Whereas the United States Government’s military and civilian aid was dispatched immediately following a request 

for international assistance by the Philippine Government; 

Whereas the Department of Defense has directed the Pacific 

Command to support the United States Government humanitarian relief operations in the Philippines in the 

wake of the typhoon; 


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Whereas the first wave of the United States military force, 

a team of 90 Marines and sailors, flew to the Philippines 

on Sunday, November 11, to assist with search and rescue operations and provide air support; 

Whereas, by November 14, 2,000 United States 

servicemembers will have arrived in the Philippines on 

the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON; 

Whereas the United States Government is providing $20 million in immediate humanitarian assistance, including the 

provision of emergency shelter, food assistance, relief 

commodities, and water, sanitation, and hygiene support; 

Whereas the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance of 

the United States Agency for International Development 

activated a Disaster Assistance Response Team to conduct initial damage assessment in affected areas, liaise 

with other humanitarian and government actors in the 

country, and recommend appropriate response options; 

Whereas the Filipino-American community is the second largest Asian-American and Pacific Islander ethnic group in 

the United States, with a population of approximately 3.4 

million; 

Whereas Filipino-Americans across the Nation immediately 

mobilized to establish disaster relief funds for those in 

their homeland; 

Whereas the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns is appealing to increase donations for its Bayanihan Relief 

and Rehabilitation Campaign to assist the impacted areas 

in the Philippines; 

Whereas in 1941, more than 250,000 Filipino soldiers responded to President Roosevelt’s call to arms and fought 

under the American flag during World War II and made 


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the ultimate sacrifice, and many of these Filipino veterans have become proud United States citizens; and 

Whereas President Barack Obama affirmed the support and 

assistance of the United States to the Philippine people, 

as well as the spirit of ‘‘Bayanihan’’, and declared that 

‘‘the United States is already providing significant humanitarian assistance, and we stand ready to further assist the Government’s relief and recovery efforts’’: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) mourns with the people of the Philippines 

3 and all of the countries affected by the horrific loss 

4 of life caused by the tragic Super Typhoon Haiyan 

5 (Yolanda), which struck the Philippines on Novem6 ber 8, 2013; 

7 (2) expresses its deepest condolences and sym8 pathy to the families of the victims of this tragedy; 

9 (3) applauds the prompt commitments of sup10 port and humanitarian efforts already underway by 

11 the international community, relief agencies, and 

12 private citizens; 

13 (4) commends the United States Government 

14 for providing $20 million of immediate humanitarian 

15 assistance; 

16 (5) reaffirms the longstanding friendship shared 

17 between the United States and the Philippines; 


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1 (6) pledges its full support and solidarity with 

2 the people of the Philippines and all others affected 

3 by this tragedy as they struggle to rebuild their lives 

4 in the wake of this disaster; 

5 (7) urges the United States Government to con6 tinue to provide assistance to the Philippines during 

7 its recovery and reconstruction efforts; 

8 (8) urges the United States Government to co9 ordinate with the international community and hu10 manitarian agents in prioritizing the protection of 

11 women and girls in the aftermath of this disaster; 

12 and 

13 (9) urges the United States Government to con14 tinue working closely with the Philippines to 

15 strengthen disaster risk reduction and mitigation 

16 strategies at the local and national levels. 

Æ 


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